Scottish Executive

Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000

Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the review of Part 5 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 will be undertaken.

Malcolm Chisholm: A consultation document is being issued today, and copies have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 27225). It seeks views on how changes might be made to facilitate the effective operation of Part 5 of the act and its associated Code of Practice, while ensuring that the interests of this vulnerable group of adults are properly safeguarded.

Central Heating

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) households and (b) pensioners’ homes in postcode areas covering (i) Hamilton North and Bellshill and (ii) Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency have (1) benefited in 2001-02 and (2) are expected to benefit in 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 under its Central Heating Installation Programme.

Ms Margaret Curran: East Ayrshire Council installed central heating in 133 dwellings in 2001-02, and expect to install it in 80 dwellings in 2002-03 and 203 dwellings in 2003-04. South Lanarkshire Council installed central heating in 863 dwellings in 2001-02, and expect to install it in 1,094 dwellings in 2002-03 and 1,100 dwellings in 2003-04. All council houses in these areas should have central heating by 31 March 2004. North Lanarkshire does not take part in the Central Heating Installation Programme; all its stock having central heating.

  Eaga are responsible for delivering the Central Heating Installation Programme to owner-occupiers and private renters. They collect data by main postcode area. That data shows that 195 private dwellings in the KA postcode area had central heating installed in the period from October 2000 to 31 January 2001. One hundred and thirteen private dwellings in the ML postcode area had central heating installed in the same period. There is no estimate of the number of private householders in these areas who will benefit during the remainder of the programme, but Eaga will make every effort to ensure that everyone who is eligible is made aware of the programme and encouraged to apply.

Employment

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what actions have been taken since 1 July 1999 to help North Ayrshire improve its record as one of the worst areas of unemployment and what success these have had in terms of the percentage of unemployment within the area and other socio-economic indicators.

Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive is working closely with the Ayrshire Economic Forum to ensure that through investing in jobs and skills, and encouraging the growth of new businesses, we create sustainable economic growth and employment opportunities.

  In recognition of the particular economic problems of North Ayrshire, I announced last week an allocation of an extra £1.2 million to North Ayrshire Council for strategic local transport infrastructure projects.

  The Ayrshire Strategy for Jobs is a five-year strategy designed to create a more diverse economic base, to facilitate the acquisition of new skills, to enhance Ayrshire's competitiveness as a business location and to address problems of economic exclusion. The New Deal has helped nearly 3,000 people in North Ayrshire enter employment and there are special initiatives for those clients who face particular difficulties.

  The Executive-funded Training for Work (TfW) programme is also available to unemployed adults on a voluntary basis and, in 2002-03 aims to offer 500 work-related training opportunities to clients in Ayrshire. In February, there were 221 trainees on TfW from North Ayrshire. Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire also provides training via programmes such as Skillseekers, the Individual Employment Fund and the Employment Initiative for SIP Areas.

  North Ayrshire has benefited directly from £775,358 from the European Regional Development Fund and £1,412,367 from the European Social Fund from the Objective 2 Programme 2000-06. These projects should cater for some 1,280 trainees. Under the Objective 3 Programme 2000-06 more than £14 million has been awarded to projects operating in North Ayrshire.

  Since July 1999, 39 projects from companies in North Ayrshire, creating and safeguarding jobs in the area, have benefited from over £13 million in Regional Selective Assistance.

  Through the Better Neighbourhoods Services Fund (BNSF) the Scottish Executive is providing £6.75 million over three years (2001-04) to improve services in the Vineburgh/Redburn and Ardeer areas of North Ayrshire, including a Jobs Access Fund, guidance and training to help people improve their employability, and an Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) programme.

  The claimant count unemployment rate between February 1999 and February 2003 for Scotland reduced by 1.5 percentage points, as against 1.3 percentage points for North Ayrshire, however claimant count unemployment rates have fallen in 26 out of the 30 wards in North Ayrshire. Furthermore, the gap between the average claimant count unemployment rate for Scotland and the average for the worst four wards in North Ayrshire has decreased by 0.5 percentage points.

  Average earnings in North Ayrshire have increased by 5.1% between 1999 and 2002 and the number of employee jobs in North Ayrshire has increased by 11% between 1999 and 2001, compared with 6.5% in Scotland.

  Overall attainment levels in publicly-funded schools have remained fairly steady since July 1999, although the percentage of the S4 roll who attained five or more standard grades (or equivalent) has increased from 91% to 93% in 2002 in North Ayrshire (whilst the national average has remained at a constant 91%).

Environment

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it can provide any residents of the Luggiebank area of the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth parliamentary constituency who have concerns about the potential environmental and personal impact of activities associated with a local plastic coating company and how open the process for any such assistance would be with regard to providing information that would (a) allay fears should nothing be untoward and (b) allow full disclosure of any irregularities found.

Allan Wilson: The Executive is not aware of any environmental or public health issues concerning a plastic coating company in the Luggiebank area. If residents have any such concerns they should contact either the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s East Kilbride office or the Environmental Health Department of North Lanarkshire Council.

Equal Opportunities

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring systems are in place to ensure equal access to any funding initiatives to all sections of the community, including black and other ethnic minority communities.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Budget Equality Statement contained in the Equality Annual Report (February 2003) provides details on how the mainstreaming of equality is having a positive, practical impact on the spending programmes of Executive departments. The commitments made by departments to reducing inequalities in Closing the Opportunity Gap  (October 2002) will also be the subject of monitoring and evaluation.

  In addition, all Scottish Executive funding programmes will be monitored to ensure compliance with the duties placed on public bodies to promote race equality and tackle discrimination by the Race Relations Act 1976 (Statutory Duties) (Scotland) Order 2002.

Europe

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Council of Ministers meetings its ministers have attended since May 1999, expressed as a percentage of the total number of council meetings.

Mr Jim Wallace: The following table gives the percentage of formal Council of Ministers meetings attended by Scottish Executive ministers since 1 July 1999.

  

 Period
 Percentage of Councils Attended


 July - December 1999
 11.9%


 2000
 9.5%


 2001
 14.1%


 2002
 14.9%


 January - February 2003 
 25.0%



  The overall percentage of formal Council of Ministers meetings attended by Scottish Executive ministers since 1 July 1999 is 12.9%.

Housing

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to change its policy on whole-stock local authority housing transfers and allow local authorities pursuing partial stock transfers to bid for support to deal with overhanging debt in line with the policy recently announced for England by Her Majesty’s Government.

Ms Margaret Curran: I have now announced that, working in partnership with our colleagues in the Treasury, we have agreed that the same financial arrangements for debt write-off which apply to whole-stock transfers should also apply to partial stock transfers in Scotland.

  This means that partial transfers are now on the table as another option available to local authorities in addition to whole-stock transfer and retention using the new financial flexibility that the Prudential Regime will offer. The onus is now on local authorities to use these funding options to deliver for their tenants the new Scottish Standard for Social Housing.

  Rules will govern how partial transfers to community ownership will in practice operate: primarily we will need to see that any partial transfer proposal is part of a wider strategy to ensure that all of an authority’s housing stock is brought up to the new Scottish Social Housing Standard

Housing

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on local authority housing, including repairs and new building, in the North Ayrshire local authority area in (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98, (c) 1998-99, (d) 1999-2000, (e) 2000-01 and (f) 2001-02.

Ms Margaret Curran: I regret that it is not possible to provide a reply prior to dissolution but I will write to the member as soon as possible.

  The following is a further answer (published on 7 May 2003); see below.

Ms Margaret Curran: The table below shows how much was spent on local authority housing, including repairs and new building, by North Ayrshire Council in the years from 1996 to 2002.

  North Ayrshire Council Local Authority Housing Expenditure

  

 
 1996-97
(£ million)
 1997-98
(£ million)
 1998-99
(£ million)
 1999-2000
(£ million)
 2000-01
(£ million)
 2001-02
(estimate)
(£ million)


 Capital Expenditure 
 10.90
 6.81
 6.14
 7.54
 7.20
 7.38


 General Repairs and Maintenance 
  (Funded Through Revenue)
 12.315
 13.327
 13.829
 14.577
 14.099
 14.87



  Note:

  Capital expenditure (including planned major repairs) is made up of annual HRA (Housing Revenue Account) borrowing consent, usable capital receipts and capital funded from rental income. General repairs and maintenance programmes are funded through revenue raised from rental income.

  This information is collected from individual local authorities and published annually by the Scottish Executive in the Statistical Bulletin - Housing Series.

Justice

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what policy the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal service has on the prosecution of incidents of drink driving.

Mrs Elish Angiolini: The policy of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is to prosecute all such cases where there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to do so. This policy has not changed since 1997.

Justice

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the policy of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service on the prosecution of incidents of drink driving has changed since 1997.

Mrs Elish Angiolini: The policy of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is to prosecute all such cases where there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to do so. This policy has not changed since 1997.

Justice

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reason is for the fall since 1997 in the number of prosecutions of incidents of drink driving when compared with the number of recorded offences.

Mrs Elish Angiolini: The policy of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is to prosecute all such cases where there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to do so. This policy has not changed since 1997.

  Information from the Crown Office information system shows that in the year April 2001 to March 2002, out of a total of 9,130 cases of drunk driving that were reported to the procurator fiscal, 97.5% were prosecuted. A decision not to prosecute was only taken in 1.4% of reported cases. Due to upgrading work being done to the computer system within the Glasgow office, these statistics do not include data in relation to the Glasgow area. However, I am satisfied that these figures clearly demonstrate that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service deals with drink driving cases robustly.

  These figures are a better indication of the number of prosecutions of drink driving cases than statistics of court proceedings, which are not directly comparable with recorded crime statistics.

Pensions

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultations it has had, or representations it has made, regarding proposed changes involving bank accounts to the pension payment system, detailing with whom each such contact was made and what the date, purpose and outcome was of each such contact.

Ms Margaret Curran: Age Concern Scotland raised the change to direct payments at the December 2002 meeting of the Older People’s Consultative Forum which is chaired by Mr Frank McAveety, Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care.

  Following that meeting, Mr McAveety wrote to the Secretary of State for Scotland to pass on those concerns.

Pensions

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Citizens Advice Bureaux, Age Concern Scotland or the banks are appropriate means by which pensioners may receive independent financial advice in relation to the proposed changes to the pension payment system and what the reasons are for the position on the matter.

Ms Margaret Curran: Independent financial advisers and the companies they work for must be authorised by the Financial Services Authority; this is a reserved matter. Banks may only offer advice on their own products or services.

  The Executive appreciates that, in the normal course of their work, the organisations mentioned may respond to their clients’ queries by advising on the consequences of the changes in benefits payments.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33537 by Mr Jim Wallace on 27 February 2003, why it is unable to provide a record of convictions in relation to offences of violence at HM Prison Kilmarnock.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  There is no requirement for the police or courts to advise the prison on progress or outcomes.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33537 by Mr Jim Wallace on 27 February 2003, how it is able to monitor performance of HM Prison Kilmarnock under Schedule F of the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Ltd for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock for performance indicators 2.2(a) and 2.2(b), which require that for performance points to be accrued an assault must be proven on adjudication or by criminal conviction, if it is unable to state the number of incidents of violence at the prison in relation to which convictions or adjudications have been obtained.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Figures are available for assaults. Where these have been proven through adjudication in the Orderly Room or where the SPS has been made aware of convictions in court, then performance points have accrued.

  The answer given to question S1W-34414 today, refers to provision of records of criminal convictions. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search..

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners have (a) had proceedings taken against them and (b) received (i) an adjudication or (ii) a criminal conviction for assault against (1) another prisoner and (2) a member of staff at HM Prison Kilmarnock in each quarter since the prison came into operation.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The available information is as follows:

  The answer given to question S1W-33537 on 27 February 2003 lists the number of adjudications at HM Prison Kilmarnock since it opened. The following findings of guilt, following allegations of assault, have been recorded for the same period.

  

 
 On a Member 
  of Staff
 On Another Prisoner 
  (Including Fights)


 Year One
 37
 27


 Year Two
 31
 45


 Year Three
 31
 81


 Year Four (to date)
 17
 56



  The answer given to question S1W-34414 today refers to provision of records of criminal convictions. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search..

Public Sector

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) Executive, (b) Executive agency and (c) non-departmental public body jobs have been re-located to North Ayrshire since 1 July 1999 and how many such jobs there were in North Ayrshire on (i) 1 July 1999 and (ii) 1 January 2003.

Peter Peacock: No Executive, Executive agency and non-departmental public body jobs have been relocated to North Ayrshire since 1 July 1999. At that point there were no such posts in North Ayrshire and that was also the position at 1 January 2003.

  The Executive remains committed to ensuring that Government in Scotland is efficient and decentralised, as part of a wider vision of more accessible, open and responsive Government. We are committed to examining opportunities as they arise and on a case-by-case basis. In this context, no areas of the country are targeted and equally none are ruled out, nor are there any targets for the number of jobs to be relocated or the areas to which they might go.

Regeneration

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received about the redevelopment of Cumbernauld town centre; on what date and from whom each such representation was received; what the terms were of each representation, and what the outcome was and what the reasons were for its position in each case.

Des McNulty: Issues regarding the redevelopment of Cumbernauld town centre are matters for North Lanarkshire Council, who are presently considering two planning applications related to development of the town centre. These applications have generated three objections. The Scottish Executive has not received representations about these particular proposals but did receive representations from Cathie Craigie MSP about an earlier town centre linked development.

Renewable Energy

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make an announcement on the proposal to build a 56-megawatt wind-powered generating station at Paul’s Hill in Moray.

Lewis Macdonald: I can announce that the Scottish ministers have granted consent on this proposal in terms of section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.

  The section 36 consent for the Paul’s Hill proposal in Moray was subject to a thorough consultation process. Moray Council, as key consultee, ensured local planning and environmental issues were at the forefront of this decision-making process.

  This proposal will make a meaningful contribution to the delivery of the Scottish Climate Change Programme.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has agreed performance measures, similar to those for previous years for the Scottish Qualifications Authority, in regard to the authority’s performance in 2003.

Nicol Stephen: I have written to the Convenor of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee advising that performance measures have been agreed for this year and enclosed these for the committee's interest. I have lodged copies of my letter and its enclosure with the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 27140).

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the annual (a) regeneration and (b) Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) budget was allocated to SIPs in (i) West Dunbartonshire and (ii) Argyll and Bute local authority area in each year since 1997.

Ms Margaret Curran: I have asked Mr Bob Millar, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information requested is given in the following table.

  

 
 1997-98
(£000)
 1998-99
(£000)
 1999-2000
(£000)
 2000-01
(£000)
 2001-02
(£000)
 2002-03
(£000)
 2003-04
(£000)


 Argyll and Bute


 SIP budget
 -
 -
 206
 280
 411
 424
 414


 Other Regeneration
 -
 -
 -
 -
 60
 60
 60


 West Dunbartonshire


 SIP budget
 -
 -
 2,193
 2,052
 2,306
 2,408
 2,456


 Other Regeneration
 2,209
 2,587
 -
 -
 60
 60
 60

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has criminal record checks carried out into the recipients of Social Inclusion Partnership funding.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive does not have criminal record checks carried out on the recipients of Social Inclusion Partnership funding. In general terms, employers and others may ask individuals to apply for criminal record certificates from Disclosure Scotland under Part V of the Police Act 1997 for purposes of considering their suitability to occupy particular posts or positions, but there is currently no requirement under law for these certificates to be obtained. (This is a matter to which we are giving close consideration).

  For information, in the context of this question the phrase "recipients of social inclusion partnership funding" is taken to refer not just to the grant recipients themselves (i.e. the relevant local authority) but also to the projects funded through them.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what investigations are currently on-going into irregularities in the operation of Social Inclusion Partnerships.

Ms Margaret Curran: Six investigations are currently on-going into irregularities in the operation of Social Inclusion Partnerships. I am unable to comment further on any of these cases on the basis that such disclosure might compromise any on-going investigation or related legal action.

  For information, in the context of this question the phrase "operation of social inclusion partnerships" is taken to refer not just to the partnerships themselves but also to projects funded or partially funded by them.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer how many milestones remain to be achieved in the Holyrood project plan.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer how many milestones in the Holyrood project plan are not yet met and, of these, how many are overdue, expressed also as a proportion of unmet milestones.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what classes of resources there are within the Holyrood project plan.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what proportion of resources have been allocated to complete (a) scheduled and (b) unscheduled tasks for each class of resource within the Holyrood project plan.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what proportion of resources have been allocated to (a) overdue, (b) behind schedule and (c) on-schedule tasks for each class of resource within the Holyrood project plan.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer how often actual progress on the Holyrood project is measured against the project plan by the (a) project managers and (b) Holyrood Progress Group.

Sir David Steel: The responsibilities for programme management and reporting within the Construction Management procurement route rest with the Construction Manager (Bovis Lend Lease). The Construction Manager provides fortnightly programme updates at a strategic level to the Holyrood Progress Group. These reports incorporate the programme implications of onsite progress and delays for all trade packages together with their respective tasks within the detailed construction programmes. This amounts to many thousands of individual tasks and associated milestones with resource management techniques being applied by the trade contractor and the Construction Manager on a daily basis.

Holyrood Project

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer under what conditions, and on whose authority, the project plan for the Holyrood project is revised and on what three most recent dates amendments to the plan were made.

Sir David Steel: The project plan provides the general basis for managing the project and sets out the various roles and responsibilities of the parties involved. The plan also incorporates change control procedures, which are rigorously adhered to. Following reviews of the project plan, there has been little need to introduce amendments mainly due to the fixed requirements of contracts with the consultants involved. The most recent amendments have incorporated changes to internal Project Team personnel and have been authorised by the Project Director.

Holyrood Project

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what internal peer review processes there are for the Holyrood Project.

Sir David Steel: There are no arrangements for peer review within the Parliament, outwith the usual management responsibilities. The project has been audited on a regular basis, both internally and externally and the Spencely review in spring 2000 provided a thorough and helpful external peer review of the project.

  

 Following 
  are statistics on parliamentary questions and answers for 
  the period from 3/2/2003 to 28/2/2003



  

 
 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer
 Total


 Total questions 
  asked
 690
 64
 754


 Total questions 
  answered
 693
 54
 747



  

 Total 
  non-recess questions answered (breakdown)


 Answered within:
 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer


 0-14 days
 601
 54


 2-4 weeks
 78
 0


 4-6 weeks
 7
 0


 6-8 weeks
 1
 0


 8 weeks and 
  over
 3
 0


 Total answered
 690
 54



  

 Total 
  recess questions answered (breakdown)


 Answered within:
 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer


 0-28 days
 0
 0


 4-6 weeks
 0
 0


 6-8 weeks
 2
 0


 8 weeks and over
 1
 0


 Total answered
 3
 0



  

 Following are statistics on 
  parliamentary questions and answers for the period from 
  3/3/03 to 31/3/03



  

 
 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer
 Total


 Total questions 
  asked
 557
 5
 562


 Total questions 
  answered
 846
 26
 872



  

 Total 
  non-recess questions answered (breakdown)


 Answered within:
 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer


 0-14 days
 682
 18


 2-4 weeks
 98
 0


 4-6 weeks
 44
 8


 6-8 weeks
 12
 0


 8 weeks and 
  over
 4
 0


 Total answered
 840
 26



  

 Total 
  recess questions answered (breakdown)


 Answered within:
 Scottish 
  Executive
 Presiding 
  Officer


 0-28 days
 0
 0


 4-6 weeks
 0
 0


 6-8 weeks
 0
 0


 8 weeks and over
 6
 0


 Total answered
 6
 0